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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398095">Tubbo_: Hello LGBTQ Community</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyllSunset/pseuds/idyllSunset'>idyllSunset</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Biphobia, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hate Speech, Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, They/Them Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:42:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398095</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyllSunset/pseuds/idyllSunset</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tubbo asks Eret for advice on dealing with harassment.</p><p>(In which Tubbo is the ally that we need and deserve.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eret &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>455</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tubbo_: Hello LGBTQ Community</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Eret's using they/them pronouns in this fic because I said so</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: are you free? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: bc I need to tqlk to you about somrtnhing. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: lmk when ur not live plaese </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>Eret glances over the discord messages and frowns. They're not sure what level of urgency that's supposed to mean. Honestly, they're pretty sure that Tubbo would send something like that even if he was bleeding out. That kid's too polite to ask to interrupt. So to be safe, they send back a message while they're still streaming, apologizing briefly to the chat.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> Eret: Is it something we should talk about now? </em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: no no its ok </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: whenever. just soon? </em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em> Eret: Sure, I'll ping you when I finish up :) </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>And then, to be completely honest, they sort of forget about it for the rest of the stream. They're just solo tonight, reacting to videos their chat asks them to, and fucking around in the SMP without getting in anyone's way.</p><p>The only reason they actually remember is that when they minimize their browser, Discord is still pulled up to Tubbo's DM. It doesn't really matter, they think to assuage the minor feeling of guilt that comes from nearly forgetting and unintentionally ghosting their friend. As long as they don't <em>actually</em> leave Tubbo hanging, it'll all sort itself out.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> Eret: Just finished. Sup? </em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>
    <em> Tubbo_: Call? </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>Without messaging back, Eret clicks on the video call button. Discord rings, pulling up its little half-window, and then seconds later Tubbo's face appears on the screen.</p><p>"Hey, Tubbo," Eret smiles.</p><p>"Hey," Tubbo says back. He sounds unhappy, and awkward, and a little bit too serious for a casual chat.</p><p>Eret sobers immediately and sits up in their seat. "What's going on, Toby?"</p><p>"It's— so—" Toby winces and glances away. "I don't know how to put this, but I wanted to know how you want me to deal with assholes. A few people have been using donations to say some awful shit."</p><p>"With..." Eret furrows their brows. That's pretty serious. "Like, harassment?"</p><p>"Like— like hate speech," Toby says.</p><p>Jesus, Eret thinks, this is serious. They should have stopped their stream earlier. If they'd know, they would have dropped everything. But all they can do now is their best, so they collect themself and lean forward. "Toby, whatever they say about you is bullshit. You're one of the best guys around. Anyone who thinks they're cool for cursing a minor out on a livestream is fucking insane."</p><p>"Oh, it's not about <em>me,"</em> Toby says quickly.</p><p>And Eret's right back to being confused.</p><p>"It's about you," Toby says.</p><p>... <em>very</em> confused.</p><p>After a brief pause, Toby scratches his head. "Yeah, sucks, right? I mean, I'm just not sure what you'd like me to do about it. 'Cause I think if I cause a scene, it might just reflect poorly on you, but I'm also approximately a thousand percent <em>not cool</em> with sitting there and letting it happen."</p><p>"Woah, back up," Eret says. "What did you get sent?"</p><p>Toby's face screws up, as if even the mention of it is unpleasant. "It was just some arse talking about shit he doesn't know the first thing about."</p><p>"What did they say?" Eret repeats.</p><p>After a moment of hesitation, Toby shifts on the camera and moves one arm to his mouse, and then about ten seconds later, an image appears in the Discord chat.</p><p>It's a screenshot of the message attached to a donation of twenty pounds.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em> --"tubbo you're really still hanging out with a fag like eret?"-- </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>Eret blinks. "Oh."</p><p>"I didn't know what to do. It got read by my text-to-speech. I didn't respond out loud, obviously. I just tried to go on and not acknowledge it. I didn't— Didn't say anything publicly against it," Toby says. "And the more I think 'bout it, the more I think I should've."</p><p>"Toby," Eret says. "It's okay. You don't have to dignify that."</p><p>"But— but I don't have to sweep it under the rug either," Toby says, sounding angrier as he goes on. "We have a platform, here. And even if it's not for you, then it should be for the others watching. What if I shut up and that guy goes on with his day thinking that what he said was acceptable? Well— well not that single guy in particular. But people like 'im. All of those bigots. Or worse, what if they all think that I'm on their side? God, I don't know what to do."</p><p>Eret feels like time freezes. They can't conjure up a single word to say, because they're far too busy being gobsmacked by how sweet Toby is being. Of course, there wasn't really a time when they were worried that their friends would be dicks about their identity, but there's a big difference between silent acceptance and actual <em>advocacy.</em></p><p>"Eret? Oh— Christ, I shouldn't have shown you what it said. Eret, they're so fucking wrong. There's no sexuality in the world that'd make me want to stop hanging out with you," Toby says sincerely.</p><p>After another second, they manage to swallow. "I've heard much worse," they say, half on autopilot.</p><p>Toby's face goes right back from worried to furious. "You shouldn't have to. Nobody should be goin' 'round saying shit like this. It does absolutely nothing but piss me off."</p><p>"There's no convincing people like that," Eret says.</p><p>"So I should just, what, let them go on with their day, thinking I might be a biphobic asshole just like them?" Toby asks, raising his voice.</p><p>Eret winces, trying to think of an answer. For Eret, they can't dodge questions about it, because it's <em>about</em> them, but the others can absolutely get away with deflecting or ignoring stuff like that. If the others claim they don't want to bring the mood down, they can get away with only addressing it when Eret's actually there. Or, more likely, never addressing it at all, because who listens to donations or reads chat when they're in a VC? Then again, Toby seems pretty against letting it go in the first place. On the other hand, responding constantly in the same way Eret does will both fuel the fire and grate on the straight viewers who came for gaming content. It's just not practical to expect all of their friends to drop everything so that they can make political statements whenever prompted, even if the statement is something as bare-bones as LGBTQ+ rights. Being a streamer is a game of marketing yourself and your personality. Eret can bring it up, because they were never going to have support from homophobes anyway, but everyone else? For them, mentioning queer rights at all is divisive. The smart choice is to keep your mouth shut and appeal to the wider audience.</p><p>"That didn't..." Toby sighs, rubbing his face. He's apparently taken Eret's non-reaction as distaste. "I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that I don't want to sweep it under the rug. It feels wrong. But I'm not sure if it would do any good to call it out, since I'm straight, and it's not my place to preach."</p><p>"What did you actually do?"</p><p>"I just had my mods block the guy. I didn't say anything," Toby says, looking embarrassed about it.</p><p>Eret nods. "That's fine, Toby. You really don't need to do anything else."</p><p>"But you—" Toby cuts himself off and looks to the side. "You always address it. When people say shit to your face."</p><p>"Yeah, I do," Eret agrees. "But you don't need to make a big deal of it. I can't speak for everyone who's— who's LGBT, obviously, but when they talk to you about me, you have my permission to just ignore it."</p><p>"That's not gonna be easy," Toby says.</p><p>"I mean, maybe not, but that's fine too. It's not the worst thing ever if you feel the need to shut it down publicly. Tommy did that a while ago when someone called him gay. Said his bit and moved on."</p><p>"No. That's different. He wouldn't have let it go if it was about you. He's a loudmouth, but the only reason he left that thing so brief is that he knew he wasn't offended. If he took offense on someone else's behalf - on a friend's behalf - he'd go on for hours."</p><p>Eret leans back in their chair, reclining, gazing off at the wall, and trying to figure this all out. Toby's just being so fucking serious. He's about as serious as anyone can be when it comes to discussing hate speech online. Eret just doesn't quite get it. It's not like it's anything special; people call them queer slurs left and right, but that happens to everyone who streams. It's practically a staple of the gaming community at this point. The gatekeeper viewers are a bunch of vultures too, smug in their cancel culture and their false sense of purity and moral superiority. The audience is always watching for cracks, either to call you a snowflake or cancel you for being problematic. That's absolutely inevitable.</p><p>"Eret?" Toby asks in a small voice.</p><p>"It's just... there are worse things that we get called," Eret says. "We get called gay all the time. Hell, we get death threats. Not just me — you. And Tommy. Wil and Dream. Everyone."</p><p>"Yeah but it's n-not—" Toby stutters and sighs angrily. "'S not grounded in anything, y'know? Like, there's a difference between calling someone names and what's happening here. Even— even when people call us gay. It's different, because they just mean it as an insult, about our behavior or something. But if they say it about you, they literally mean that they find your identity repulsive. It's a <em>slur.</em> Doesn't that piss you off?"</p><p>"Toby," Eret whispers.</p><p>Toby's face falls. "Christ, I'm stickin' my foot in my mouth, aren't I? Sorry, Eret, I know your say on this is what matters. I shouldn't—"</p><p>"No, Toby, you're just—" Eret laughs and turns away. Their eyes are burning and their chest feels so light that it feels like someone's pumped helium into it. They shake their head gently and glance back to their computer screen. "You care so much."</p><p>Hesitance washes over Toby's features. "I— what?"</p><p>Eret plants their elbows on their desk and then presses their face into their hands. It muffles their voice when they chuckle and mutter, "ahh, Tubbo."</p><p>"Is it... surprising that I care about gay rights?"</p><p>"No, it's just..." Eret lifts their head and has to stare at the ceiling for a moment before sliding their gaze back to the window where Toby is. "Even in real life, most people would rather just ignore that part of me. Close their eyes and hope I end up with a girl so they can pretend I was just trying to get attention all along."</p><p>"Well that's fuckin' bullshit," Toby interjects. "You're always gonna be bi, no matter who you're with."</p><p>Eret doesn't even have a response. They can't help the smile that creeps across their face or the tears that spring to their eyes. People can make posts about representation and validity all they want, but hearing one of your friends validate you unprompted is an unparalleled feeling.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Toby asks.</p><p>"You're a really good friend," Eret says.</p><p>Toby nods, suddenly firm and determined. "That settles it, then. I'll call that bullshit out whenever it comes my way. Publicly. Loudly, if I've got to. I don't want homophobes and biphobes to think they're ever welcome in our community."</p><p>"Oh, really, you don't have to—"</p><p>"I just brought you to tears because I agreed that you're bisexual," Toby says. "And you're my friend. My peer. There are... there are tons of people who look up to us. It's up to us to make sure people out there know that we're on their side. Even if I wasn't angry because they made it personal - which I'm still fuckin' furious, by the way - then it's still a responsibility that I should be holding up."</p><p>"You're gonna get called a snowflake."</p><p>"You're gonna get called—" Toby stops in his tracks, and shakes his head. "You <em>already</em> get called worse. I think I can handle it."</p><p>Eventually, Eret manages to wipe their face with their palm and take a breath deep enough to calm them down. "Tubbo."</p><p>Tubbo is quiet for a long moment. "Nobody should be made to feel like that. It's not right."</p><p>"Aren't you supposed to be studying for exams or something?"</p><p>"Or sleeping," Tubbo says.</p><p>"Right," Eret says quickly. "Right. Did you stay up to talk to me about this?"</p><p>"Maybe. It seemed important."</p><p>Eret offers up a shaky smile and nods. "Thank you."</p><p>"Yeah, of course," Tubbo nods. "I'll see you tomorrow?"</p><p>"Definitely. Goodnight, Tubbo."</p><p>"Night! Sleep tight 'n all that. Love you, man," Tubbo grins. He waves to his webcam, and then it cuts out as he ends the call.</p><p>"Love you too, kid," Eret says to their empty room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I rejoined the MCYT fandom after a seven-year leave of absence and came back to find out that everybody's woke and an ally and some people are just queer and hanging out?? Creators don't use sexualities as an insult or a cheap joke anymore????? Like, idk what happened while I was gone but damn this is pretty sweet!!!! Gay rights trans rights pog</p></blockquote></div></div>
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